Acting as a hub for performing arts in Winnipeg, Canada, the Centennial Concert Hall has long upheld a sense of community for the people of Manitoba. With a seating capacity in excess of 2,300, the venue is the largest performing arts space in Winnipeg. When the Manitoba Centennial Centre Corporation decided to upgrade the Centennial Concert Hall lighting system to improve energy efficiency and coverage, ArcSystem immediately stood out as a top choice.

The outdated system
at Centennial Concert Hall was causing multiple problems for the staff,
patrons, and performers. On top of poor lighting quality, the old system
required excessive maintenance. Denis Crymble, stage electrician, says, “I
never liked the feeling of the light. To me, it was always dingy. The upkeep of
it was horrendous. We had little to no flexibility in the old space.”

For decades, the
venue had few technology upgrades. Looking to the future, the
team decided to
move to an LED house lighting system. Although the staff knew this move would
greatly reduce the venue’s ecological footprint, many were concerned about the
quality of light that could come from LED fixtures.

“When we started
looking at LEDs for house lights, I was skeptical, to tell you the truth. The
ceiling is 60 feet high in some places,” says Crymble. “I didn’t know if we
were going to get enough light out of LEDs.”

Vince Paulich,
facility supervisor, knew that throw distance was going to be a major challenge
when looking for LED luminaires. “When I first saw ArcSystem, it stood out as a
solution that could solve the majority of our problems. There was certainly
increased comfort knowing that the product was coming from ETC. Our house
equipment is all ETC, from our Eos to Source Four PARs. It is a fantastic
company.”

In addition to the
brightness of the luminaires, the team was impressed by the flawless dimming.

“The thing that
impressed me the most was the dimmer curve,” says Crymble. “In my experience,
getting LED lights to dim to zero smoothly is very difficult. When I saw the
ArcSystem luminaires, I was thinking ‘wow.’ They don’t bump out and they don’t
bump in.”

Paulich adds, “Even
to this day, I have never seen a product with a smoother dimming curve than
ArcSystem.”

The smooth dimming
and quality of light have dramatically boosted Centennial Concert Hall’s
mood-setting capabilities for the audience. Crymble says, “With the new ArcSystem,
there is a warmth in the theatre that wasn’t there before. The quality of light
just makes you feel better.”

“When we walked in
to see the first show with the new system, it was just stunning. It turned out
exactly as we wanted. It didn’t feel dark, it didn’t feel bright, it just felt
comfortable,” says Paulich.

Prior to updating
the lighting system, patrons frequently complained about visibility in the
theatre. Visitors had difficulty reading programs and finding their way to
their seats. Paulich says, “Walking to your seat, you would notice that you
were walking in a dark spot and then a bright spot. It wasn’t inviting.”

ArcSystem has
eliminated this problem. General Manager Martin Kull says, “Now we have zero
complaints. The level of light is so much more consistent. There are no dark
spots.”

The experience for
those working behind the scenes has also vastly improved. With the combination
of ArcSystem luminaires and Paradigm controls, the
staff can get much more granular in how they adjust lights.

“One of the
features that made me fall in love with ArcSystem was the wireless
capabilities,” says Paulich. “It is fantastic to deal with fixtures one by one.
It makes troubleshooting a lot easier.”

“In the old system,
I couldn’t isolate specific areas when I brought up a dimmer,” says Crymble.
“Now, I can individually address each light in the rig. Some shows don’t want
to open the balconies. They just want the main floor. With ArcSystem, I can
just have the main floor house lighting on and hide the unused space by leaving
it dark. We can completely tailor the space depending on each event’s needs.”

The venue increased
the amount of control stations with Paradigm, meaning staff can access lighting
controls from more spaces in Centennial Concert Hall. Paulich says, “The ETC
Paradigm product is incredible. It communicates with a broad spectrum of protocols.
I love the sleek touch screen capabilities. It’s definitely a top of the line
lighting controller.”

The advancement in
technology also means less maintenance. With the old system, staff had to spend
8 hours each week replacing lamps and sockets. Paulich says, “It was getting to
the point that we had 10-15 lamps go out in a week. The heat from the outdated
fixtures was also affecting the wiring. It was a real challenge for us to keep
the system running.”

Since the
installation has been completed, the venue has yet to have a single ArcSystem
luminaire go down. The staff went from weekly maintenance calls to just once a
year.

The new lighting is
incredibly more efficient than the old system. While ArcSystem is four times
brighter than the outdated system, consumption has dropped from 76,000 watts to
10,200 watts. That’s a mere fraction of the power the venue once used.

Now that the
five-year project is complete, the team is confident that Centennial Concert
Hall will benefit from the forward-thinking system for years to come.

“I’ve always
believed that you have to get cutting-edge technology and push the envelope,”
says Crymble. “With this system, I wanted to make sure that we wouldn’t feel
like we have outdated technology again in the next five years.”

“It was like
building a road map,” says Paulich. “Once we put in a proper foundation, we can
just keep building on top of it. We won’t have to upgrade anything in the
lighting system for a long time. We really aimed to make sure we had the basic
technology that would meet any needs the future holds for Centennial Concert
Hall.”